Bicycle accidents in New York and New Jersey.
Cyclists get hit by drivers who turn across them, change lanes into them, or open a door without looking. We represent injured riders in New York and New Jersey — on city streets, and on the routes riders actually use, including 9W, Henry Hudson Drive and the approaches to the George Washington Bridge.
Look after yourself first, then hold on to the evidence.
Get checked over properly, because head and shoulder injuries are common and adrenaline masks them. After that, the bike, the helmet and the route are the things that tell the story, so don’t let any of them disappear.
You won’t get all of this right, and you don’t have to. Do what you can, and we’ll work with what you have.
Get medical care and record the effects
Get examined and keep the records. Concussions, collarbone and wrist fractures and back injuries are all common in bike crashes. Write down what you can’t do now that you could do before — it is easy to forget by the time it matters.
Keep the bike, the helmet and the route
Don’t repair or dispose of the bike, and keep the helmet even if it looks fine. If you were running a bike computer or a GPS app, save the file. It records your speed, your line and the moment of impact more precisely than any witness.
Write down the driver and the road
The driver’s details and insurance, the plate, the exact location, the direction they came from, and what they said at the scene. Note the road surface too, and anything about the layout that made the spot dangerous.
Most New Jersey injury claims have to be filed within two years, and most New York claims within three. If a city, a state agency or a public authority is involved, formal notice can be due within 90 days. Miss the deadline and the claim is usually gone, however strong it was.
How long you have to bring a claimThis page is general information. It is not medical or legal advice for your situation.
A bike crash is rarely just about the rider.
Drivers turning, merging and opening doors
Right hooks, left turns across a rider, drifting into the bike lane, and dooring. These are the crashes we see most, and in every one of them the driver had a duty to look before they moved.
The routes and the road surface
Riders around here know the spots — the shoulder on 9W, the descents on Henry Hudson Drive, the bridge approaches, the bike lanes that stop without warning. Potholes, gravel, storm grates and unmarked repairs put riders down, and a road authority can share responsibility.
What the bike and the gear tell you
Damage to the frame, the wheels, the helmet and your clothing shows the angle and the force of the impact. Kept properly, that evidence answers the questions a driver’s account tends to leave open.
If someone else was responsible, these are the losses a claim is meant to put right.
Medical treatment
The care you have already had, and the care the evidence says you are still going to need.
Lost income
Time off work now, and the earnings you lose if you cannot go back to what you did before.
The effect on your life
Pain, the things you can no longer do, and how long that is expected to last. This is the part with no invoice attached, and the part an insurer values lowest.
What any individual claim is worth depends on its own facts, and no one can tell you that from a web page.
The driver’s version isn’t the only version.
Jim Hunt trained at one of the largest law firms in the world. Our attorneys came from the other side of claims like yours — corporate defense and insurance defense in New York City — and they know where a defense lawyer looks to cut a claim down.
We take on fewer cases than most firms, on purpose. That means you deal with an attorney rather than a case handler, your calls get returned, and the person answering knows your file. We’ll handle the insurer so you don’t have to, and we’ll work on getting your medical bills sorted out while the claim runs. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you.
What happens when you call.
Questions people ask after an injury.
Every situation is different. If yours isn’t here, ask us. There’s no cost to ask.
Should I keep my bicycle after a crash?
Yes. Don’t repair it, sell it or throw it away. The damage to the frame and wheels is evidence of what happened and how hard you were hit. Photograph it, and store it somewhere safe.
Does it matter that it happened on a popular cycling route?
It can. Where a stretch of road has a known problem — a recurring surface defect, a bad junction, a bike lane that ends badly — there may be a record of complaints or earlier incidents. That matters when a road authority is involved.
Do I need a full accident record before I call?
No. Call us with what you have. Often that is the driver’s name, a photograph of the bike, and a hospital discharge sheet. We can work out what else exists.
Jim worked incredibly hard on my case and always made me feel that my best interests were his priority… He was there for me throughout the entire process and never made me feel like I was just another case.
— Vjollca B., Google review
Read more client reviewsPrior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstance. Testimonials are reviews left by actual clients on the firm’s public Google profile, in the client’s own words and shortened in places; clients are not compensated for reviews. A testimonial is not a guarantee or prediction about your case. Read our full disclaimer.
Not a bicycle accident?
If yours is closer to one of these, start there instead.